Four blind men, Bhavnagar, Gujarat 1968

Jyoti Bhatt made this photograph of four blind men in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. The image uses the visual language of documentary photography to create meaning. The men in the photograph wear white cloth tied around their eyes. They sit, or recline, on a concrete step in front of a building. Bhatt’s photograph comments on the social structures of the time. It reflects the marginalization of people with disabilities in Indian society, and perhaps reflects on the teachings of Ghandi, who was born in the same state and advocated for social justice, equality and the removal of poverty. Historians can research the image further by consulting archives of photographs taken in India at that time, and by researching into the history of disability rights in India. Understanding these contexts allows us to better interpret the artwork and its social commentary. The meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.